Wire tying machine



March 26, 13940. l P. WRIGHT 2,195,043

WIRE TYING ACHINE Filed Jan. I5, 1939 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 .Maxch 26, 1940.P. WRIGHT wm: 'mue MACHINE Filed Jan.- s, 19:59

8 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 26, 1940. P. WRIGHT wim: TYING MACHINE Filed Jan.3, 1959 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 P. WRIGHT WIRE TYING MACHINE Filed yJan.

March 26, l1940.

esmas-sheet 4 gmc/nm P. WRIGHT WIRE TYING MACHINE- Filed Jan. s,l 1959March 26, 19.40.

8 Sheets-Sheet 5 mnu HHHHH Skim/man March 26, 1940. P. WRIGHT WIRE-TYING MACHINE Filed. Jan. 5, 1939 a sheets-'sheet 6 March 26, 1940. PWRIGHT 2,195,043

WIRE TYING .MACHINE Y Filed Jan. 3, 1939 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 www www my I Awww 'Umm HHM W Wu Filed Jan. 5, 1959 March 26, 1940.

Patented Mar. 26, 1940 UNITED STATES l WIRE TYING MACHINE Parvin wright,seattle, wash., signor tu The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn., alcorporation of Connecticut Application January 3,

` 32 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for twisting a knot in overlappedportions of a wire in the securement of packages, and has for its objectto provide a construction lof an automatic type which is simple in partsand more efficient in operation than those heretofore proposed.

With these and other 'objects in view the invention resides in the noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts as will be disclosedmore fully hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecification andsin which like numerals designate like parts in\all theviewsy Fig. 1 is a vertical side elevational view of the machine withvarious parts shown somewhat diagrammatically, the purpose being to showthe general assembly of parts and their approximate relationships;

Fig. 2 is a vertical front elevational view of the machine with some ofthe operating parts omitted and others shown somewhat diagrammatically;f

Fig. 3 is a detail diagrammatic view to illustrate a mechanism forinterrupting the feed of l the lpackages to be banded;

Fig. 4.is -a detail view partly in section and partly in elevation toillustrate the arrangement ,and operation of the mechanism for feedingthe wire to and from the twister mechanism, said rangement and operationof the wire feed rolls,

said view taken as on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 and looking inthe directionof the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the twister mechanism and itsassociated parts;

Fig. 'l is a detail view partly in section and' partly in elevation,taken as on the line 1-1 of Fig. 6 and looking in the direction of thearrows, and illustrating the twister mechanism and its associated parts;i

Fig. 8 is a detail view partly in section and partly in elevation, takenas on the line 8--8 of Fig. 6 and looking in the direction of thearrows, and illustrating the twister mechanism and its associated parts;

Fig. 9 is a detail view partly in section and partly in elevation toillustratethe operation and arrangement of the wire feed rolls, saidview 1939, Serial No. 249,127

(Cl. 10th-31) Fig. 10 is a detail view partly in section and partly inelevation to illustrate a clutch device for controlling the operation ofthe twister mechanism;

Fig. 11 is a detail view of a portion of the clutch mechanism shown inFig. 10, said view taken as on the line II-ll thereof and looking in thedirection of the arrows; y

Fig. 12 is a foreshortened view partly in section and partly inelevation tofillustrate the control mechanism by which the wire is -fedby the feed rolls rst in one direction and then in the oppo- -sitedirection; Y

Fig. 13 is a detail elevational view illustrating the clutch deviceshown in Fig. 10, as well as the means for tensioning the wire aroundthe package and holding the wire so tensioned;

Fig. 14 is 'a vertical transverse sectional view taken as on the lineM--Il of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows, andillustrates the means for holding the tensioned wire during the twistingoperation;

Fig. 15 is a plan View partly in section and partly in elevation. takenas on the line |5--l5 of Fig. 13 and looking in the direction of thearrows, said view to illustrate the construction of the means fortensioning the wire;

Fig. 16 is a detail plan View mostly in section to illustrate the loweror gripping portion of the tensioning device shown in Fig. 15; l

Fig. 17 is a detail view illustrating the latch and the release thereforused in connection with the mechanism for elevating a package to aposition where the applied wire is twisted about said package, said Viewtaken as on the line |1-I1 of Fig.

1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 18 is a detail view showing a modification of the means forelevating a package to wire twisting position;

Fig. 19 is a plan view in more or less diagram to illustrate the driveconnections for the wire feed rolls; I y

Fig. 20 is a partial perspective view illustrating a portion of thetwisting mechanism; and

Fig. 21 is a View of the completed and twisted knot.

This invention covers anautomatic machine for tying a wire band around abox or other package and comprises generally a twister head withassociated cutters for severing the blghts of the wire after the knothas been completed and means for positively ejecting the twisted knotfrom .the twister pinion, 'as' well as feed mechanism for nrst passingthe wire from a reel lto and around (as a loop) the package to be bandedun e and then shifted to operate for drawing the slack out of the loop,means for tensioning the "wire after the slack has been removed from theloop, and cooperating mechanisms for synchronizing the variousoperations.

` 'I'he machine is provided with suitable framework constituting asupport for the various mechanisms, the numeral 2 generally designatingthe top plate or bed of the machine and to which most of the mechanismis supportedly attached, 3 indicating generally the twister mechanism, 4an electric motor or other source of power for actuating the wirebanding, tensioning, and tying mechanisms, 5 an elevator for raising thebox 6 to a position where the bights of the wire are twisted to securethe package, 1 a loop forming guideway for the wire and substantiallysurrounding the box to be banded, 8 a foot lever for moving the elevator5, and 9 a reel of the wire .I0 for banding the package.

'Ihe elevator 5 comprises a plurality of vertical parallel plates IVIspacedV from each other to pass upwardly between conveyor rollers suchas I2 ilxedly carried by the framework of themachine and substantiallyhorizontally aligned with a series ofV conveyor rollers I3 over which abox is fed to the banding machine, and also aligned with another seriesof conveyor rollers I4 over which the banded box passes from themachine. In

Fig. 2 there is shown a box I5 raised by the elevator into wire 'tyingposition, and another box I6 on the conveyor rollers I3 ready forpassage onto the elevator 5 after the box `I5 has been banded anddischarged from the machine.

As best seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the machinev has three rollers I1, I8 andI9 interconnected by yokes such as at each end of the rollers in suchmanner that the outside rollers I1 and I9 can be moved about the centraland iixed roller I8, so that when the roller I1 is above the plane ofthe aligned rouers lz, la and I4, the ruer I9 will be below such plane.One of the elevator plates II carries near its upper extremity a lateralextension such as 2| and which may be a lug or pin, which extensioncontacts the yoke 20 when the elevator is moved downwardly, to bringabout oscillation of the yokes 20. The spacing of the central roller I8from the rollers I1 and I9 is preferably made unequal to causegravitational oscillation ofthe yokes, thereby normally urging theroller I1 upwardly into the position shown in Fig. 2 to intercept andstop the advancing movement of the box lII toward the elevator, saidroller I1 being moved downwardlyV to release said box I 8 when theextension 2| on the elevator plate .II in its downward movement contactsthe yokes 20, this occurring only after the preceding box I5 has been\banded. Preferably the series of conveyor rollers I3 are mounted in aninclined plane so that the urge lof gravity may assist in moving theboxes/ toward this machine.

The elevator 5 has a depending arm 30 to which ispivoted as at 3| alever'32 one end of which has a handle 33 and the other end of which ispivoted as at 34 to the frame of the machine. A bar 35 substantiallyparallel to the lever 32 has its opposite ends pivoted respectively asat 36 to the elevator arm 30, and as at 31 to the frame of the machinebelow the pivotY 34 of'said lever. 'Thus it will be understood from Fig.1 that the elevator arm 30, the lever 32, the bar 35 and the frame ofthe machine, all constitute a parallel linkage whereby, when saidlinkage is oscillated, the elevator 5 will be raised and/or lowered. Thehandle 33 is provided to permit `manual assistance in the upwardmovement of the elevator.

A vertical lifter rod 38 has secured thereto a collar 39 near its lowerextremity, said extremity passing through an opening in the inner end 40of the foot lever 8 fulcrumed at 4I, a second collar` 42 being securedto the extremity of said lifter rod below the foot lever, the twocollars being-spaced from each other as desired to permit any necessaryinoperative play or delayed action of the foot lever as will be pointedout later. -Thus it will be understood that when the foot lever is.depressed at one end, the other end 40 will contact the collar 39 andraise the lifter rod 38.

A plate 43, near its lower end, is pivoted as at 44 to the lever 32 ofthe parallel linkage heretofore described, and at the upper end of saidplate there is provided a lateral extension or ear 45 through which thelifter rod 38 slides, and around said lifter rod there is provided arelatively vstrong helicalspring 46 whose ends bear against the collar39 and the ear 45. Therefore it will be seen that when the foot lever 8moves the lifter rod upwardly, the spring 49 will be compressed andultimately cause the plate 43 to move upwardly and in turn raise theelevator 5. The tension of the spring 46 is made such as to give thenecessary yieldability and slightly delayed action inthe raising of theelevator and hold the box 6 against the twister head under springtension. A latch4 mechanism generally identified by the numeral 41 inFig. 1 is employed to hold the lifter rod 38 in elevated position aswhen said box is up-against the twister head, said latch being releasedafter the twisting operation and severance of the ends o'f` the twistedbights of the wire, all as will be disclosed in more detail later on.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the twister mechanism is generally identified by thenumeral 3 and comprises a train of gears for operating a slotted twisterpinion, the detailed description and operation of which will appearhereinafter. In a vertical plane with the axis of the twister pinion,and rigidly carried by the frame of the machine is `the more or lessoval guideway 1, of substantially U-shape in transverse section, forforming the loop of banding wire, and from Fig. 1 it will be seen thatthis guideway substantially surroundsthe box when in position to bebanded, the open side Iof the U-shape guideway being inwardly directedtoward the box so that, when the slack of the wire is drawn from theloop, the loop of wire may leave the guideway and come into surfacecontact with the box. In Fig. 2 there has been shown a duplication ofthe guideway 1 at 50, and a duplication of the twister mechanism 3 at5I, vsince in some casesit may be desired to provide a boxsimultaneously with plural bands, particularly if the boxes are large,it being understood that the second guideway 5I) will be likewisepositioned in the vertical plane with the axis of the twister pinion ofthe second twister mechanism 5I.

The reel 9 has its trunnions 52 disposed in the fork of a supportingbracket shown in Fig, 1

' at 53, said bracket at its lower extremity being pivoted as at 54 tothe framework of the machine and having the extremity of one arm of thefork adapted to be engaged by a hook or latch 55 carried b y the machineframework, for holding the reel in more or less rigid position on ,themachine. When `the reel has been emptied of its Wire, the bracket 53 isunlatched and swung about the pivot 54 to the dotted line position torecel e. a new reel of wire 9', and then the bracke is returned to itslatched position shown in ful lines in F'ig. 1. The other arm of thebracket fork carries any suitable brake device generally indicated bythe numeral 56 and adapted to bear against the periphery of the reel tocreate such a friction therewith as will prevent undue unwinding of thereel as the wire l0 is withdrawn therefrom, and said arm also carries apair of friction rollers 51 and 58 between which the wire |0 passes inleaving the reel, said friction rollers being under. spring tension asby forming their supporting member 59 of leaf spring material, all aswill be readily understood.

An electric motor or other source of power is indicated by the numeral 4for revolving the power shaft 60 having the worm 6| thereon driving theworm gear 62 keyed to a transverse shaft 63, and upon the front end ofthe shaft 63 is loosely mounted the gear 64 having secured thereto as byone or more pins 65, a feed foil 66, see Figs. 4 and 5. With particularreference to Figs. 5, 9 and 19 it will be seen that the shaft 63 alsohas keyed thereto the gear 61 enmeshed with the pinion 68 keyed to astub shaft 69 substantially parallel with the shaft 63, and keyed to theopposite end of the shaft 69 is a gear 10 -always enmeshed with the gear64 which. is loose on shaft 63. The gear 10 has secured thereto as bythe pins 1| (see Fig. 4) a feed roll 12 cooperating with the feed roll66. This pair of feed rolls may have their peripheries formed as desiredbut in the drawings they have been shown respectively as male and femalerolls. The two shafts 63 and 69 are disposed in suitable bearings abovethe bed plate of the machine and the feed rolls 66 an'd 12 are of suchdiameters that the wire |0 will bein a substantially horizontalplane inlower tangential contact therewith.

Secured to the bed plate 2 of the machine but depending therefrom is abracket 80 forming a substantial journal for arock shaft 8|, said shaftprovided at one end with a `Thead providing the oppositely extendingarms 82 and 83 (see Fig. 4), the arm 82 carrying a transverse pin 84upon which is loosely mounted the gear 85 adapted to enmeshA with ,thegear 64, said gear 85 having secured theretoa's by the pins 86 the feedroll 81 coacting with the feed roll 66. The other arm 83 of the T'headcarries a similar transverse pin 88 upon which is loosely mounted thegear 89 adapted to enmesh with the gear 10, said gear 89- having securedthereto as by the pins 90 the feed roll 9| coacting with the feed roll12. The opposite end of the rock shaft 8| is provided with any suitablemeans for giving oscillatory motion thereto but in Figs. 5 and 9 saidrock shaft is illustrated as having its end formed as at 92 toseparatingly key with the lower end of the lever 93 whose upper end ispivotally connected as at 94 with a push rod 95. 'Ihe two pins 84 andv88 are below the bed plate of the machine and the feed Arolls 81 and 9|carried thereby are of such diameters that their peripheries will besubstantially tangential. with the peripheries of the upper feed rolls66 and 12 respectively.

Thus it will be understood from what has just been described that thetransverse shaft 63 is constantly rotated by the power shaft 60 but thatthe feed roll 66 carried on the former has loose relationl ornon-rotation therewith. .*I-Iowever, power from said shaft 63 istransmitted to the shaft 69 and this shaft has keyed, thereto the Vgearsjust mentioned.

gear 10 carrying the feed roll 12. In vother words, the gear 10 with itsfeed roll 12 is the only one of the feed roll gears that is positivelydriven from a constantly rotating shaft. But all four of the drive rollgears 64, 10, 85 and 89 are so mounted as to always be in mesh with eachother, whereby rotation of the gear 10 by its shaft 69 will causerotation of the other three gears. However, the

lower pair of gears 85 and 89 is mounted on the rock shaft 8| wherefore,and with particular reference to Fig. 4, when the lever or arm 93 is inthe position shown, there will be deeper enmeshment between the gears 64and 85 than between the other vertical pair of gears 10 and 89. When,however, the push rod 95 is moved to the left as seen in said Fig. 4,lever arm 9 3 will-slightly oscillate the rock-shaft 8| to reverse the`depth of enmeshment betweeny the.l two vertical pairs of 'I'hisoscillation Vis quite slight but is sufficient to cause the two verticalpairs of feed rolls to alternately pinch the wire I0 to cause movementof said wire either toward or away from the twisting mechanism.Consequently, when the parts are in the positions shown in Fig. 4, theleft hand vertical pair of feed rolls, through their pinch, will causethe wire to be moved to the left in a direction from the reel to thetwister,v

but when the pinch is transferred to the right hand vertical' pair offeed rolls (through oscillation of rock-shaft 8|) the wire will be movedto the right or in a direction from the twister to the reel, the wire l0being shown in dotted lines'because it is located in front. of the feedgears.

The shaft 63, constantly rotated by the power shaft 60, has keyed orotherwise securely attached thereto the gear l|00 enmeshed with thecompanion gear |0| transversely but loosely mounted on the shaft |02(see Figs. 4, 5 and 9), said shaft |02 extending'forwardly of themachine and having on its front end the upper gear of the twistingmechanism, said shaft |02 also controlling actuation of the device forholding the wire under tension during the twisting operation as well ascontrolling the release of the lifter rod 38.v Therefore a clutch isprovided for locking the helical lgear |0| to the shaft |02.

This clutch comprises a member |03 secured to the shaft |02 forrotationtherewith, said member having a bore |04 substantially parallelto the axis of said shaft and within which bore is slidingiy fitted apin |05 having a projection |06 extending through the wall of the member|03 and engaged outside thereof in a slot |01 in the end of a bell crank|08 pivoted as at |09 Yto said member, a. spring ||0 being provided tonormally urge the bell crank to oscillate in a direction to move saidpin |05 to the right as seen in Fig. 10

and into a hole formed in the face of lthe helical gear |0|. In otherwords, since said helical gear is constantly rotated, the hole in itsface will move in a circular path about the the turning movement of theshaft |02, will strike the end of said trip and thereby causeoscillation of the bell crank to withdraw its associated pin alsl Forprotection, the helicalgear |0| has a plate H4 pivotally secured to theface thereof providedwith the hole III, the free end of said `platenormally covering said hole, and said plate has a portion of its inneredge upturned to provide, the abutment H5, see Figs. 10 and l1. Thus,

"through any possible ,failure of the trip H2 in functioning, oroperating at the required time, the pin |05 might protrude from its boreand cause an undesired'engagement with the helical gear |0|., but theplate H4 is provided to cover -lsaid hole and require said pin tocontact the inner edge of said plate to move said plate out ofitshole-covering position, the abutment H5 being provided to assuremovement of said plate. A spring I |6 is provided to assure normalcoverage of the hole by said plate.

To insure the-stopping of the rotation of the ,shaft |02 in properposition, and to hold the shaft in such position until the nextcoengagementl of the clutch |03 with the helical gear |0I, the rear endof shaft |02 has keyed thereto a cam H1 provided with a peripheralindention I I8 adapted to be engaged closely by a roller I |9 mounted atone end of a bar |20 whose other end is freely pivoted as at |2I to aportion of the framework or gear casing of the machine, said bar beingunder the urge of a relatively strong coil spring |22 operating as shownin Fig. 5 to force the roller I I9 into the indention H8.

Referring particularly to Figs. 6, 7 and 8, there is illustrated thereinthe twister mechanism and its associated parts. |30 and I3I designatetwo vertically parallelly spaced walls supported by the bed plate of themachine, between which pair of walls the twister gear train is disposed,the front end portion of the shaft |02 being journaled in the upperportion of wall I3I, with the main driving gear |32 of said train keyedto the extremity of said shaft. This main driving gear is adapted toenmesh with an intermediate gear |33 whose shaft |34 is supported by atleast one of said walls, which gear |33 is enmeshed with a secondintermediate gear |35 whose shaft |36 is supported in both of saidwalls, and the gear |35 is enmeshed with the twister pinion |31 whosetrunnions are supported in said walls or in plates attached thereto, andthe gear ratio may be made as desired according to the size of thetwisted knot desired, preferably the two intermediate gears being of thesame size. l

ToV the outer face of wall |30 is secured a jaw plate |38 provided withthe wire receiving slot |39 in its extending end, and to the outer faceof the other wall |3| there is secured a similar Vjaw plate |40 havingthe wire receiving slot |4| `in its extending end, the slots |39 and |4|of both plates being as usual of a width equal to the diameter of thewire I0 and being aligned withthe4 axis of the twister pinion |31 in theusual manner whereby, when the two bights of the wire areA placed intothe full depth of said slots-.said wires will substantially coincidewith the-axis of the twister-pinion for formation of ,thewisted knotshown in Fig. 20 and said jaw 70.

Y|44,vfthe upper end |45 of said cutter adapted to beactuated by a cam|46 formed on the protrudingend of shaft` |36 of the intermediateA2,195,048 .;I05from the hole III of the helical gear |0| and twistergear |35. Thus it will be understood that in the rotation of said gear|35 its shaft cam |46 will oscillate the 'cutter |43 about its pivot andcause the lower end |41 thereof to move upwardly and cut one ofthebights of the wire in close proximity to the end of the twisted knot,the edge of the slot |39 and the edge of the cutter end |41 cooperatingin shearing effect on said bight. (See Fig.7).

To the outer face of the other jaw plate |40 is pivoted as at |48 acutter |49 under tension of a spring |50, the upper end |5| of saidcutter adapted to be actuated by a. cam |52 formed on the oppositeprotruding end of shaft |36 of the intermediate twister gear 35. Thus itwill be understood that in the rotation of said gear |35 its shaft ca rn|52 will oscillate the cutter |43 about its pivot and cause the lowerend I 53 thereof to move upwardly and cut the other bight of the wire inclose proximity to the opposite end4 of the twisted knot, the edge ofthe slot |4| and the edge of the cutter end |53 cooperating in shearingeffect on said bight. (See Fig. 8). The two cutters are actuatedsimultaneously and suitable stops such as the pin indicated at |54 inFig. 8 are provided for each cutter against the tension of its springand to position each cutter with respect to its actuating cam.

Journaled in the two walls |30 and |3| is a rock shaft |60 whose endsextend beyond said walls, and on one of said ends is secured a.depending arm I6| in sliding contact with the outer face of the wall 30,the lowermost end of said arm normally occupying aposition to the rearof the twisted knot in the twister pinion (see Fig. 7), and to the otherof said ends of the rock shaft |60 is secured a similar depending arm|62 in sliding contact with the outer face of the other wall |3|, thelowermost end of this arm |62 likewise normally occupying a position tothe rear of the twisted knot (see Fig. 8). These twoV depending armsserve as kickers in that they forcibly eject from the twister pinion,and from ,the jaw plates |36 and |40, the twisted knot after the rockshaft |60. A coil spring |61 is disposedA about said stem and. confinedas shown in Fig. 8 between the arm |63 and the bar |66. The upper end|68 of said bar is adapted to contact with a cam |69 formed on orattached to the shaft |02 whereby, upon rotation of the shaft |02, saidcam will oscillate the bar |66 and place said spring under considerableand increased tension. A latch or hook of leaf spring nature is providedfor receiving and. holding the end |68 of said bar when the latter ismoved downward, the end of said bar snapping under the yieldable hook. Acoil spring I 1| is provided tending to retain the kicker arms 6| and I62 against a shoulder such as |12 of the walls with which'theyV areassociated, and in the normal position (above referred to) behind thetwisted knot. Oscillation of the bar |66 does not occur until after thestart of the twisting operation, and in Afact starts at a time between`the final two registrations of the slot of the twister pinion and theslots |39 and |4| of the jaw plates, wherefore it is impossible for saiddepending arms to kick the bights of wire out of the twister mechanismuntil and therefore to the twister pinion.

the final registration of the slot of the twister pinion .with the slotsof the jaw plates. 'During this final registration, the tension of thespring |61 is so great as to cause oscillation of the rock shaft |60 byvirture of the tensioning arm |63, overbalancing the tension of thespring and consequently actuating the kicker arms to eject thetwistedknot from the twister pinion. 'I'he end |68 of the bar |66remains latched under the hook |10 during this operation, but isreleasedsubsequently as will be disclosed in the operation of the machine. Thearm |63 may be joined to the -kicker arm |62, if desired, to constitutea bell crank.

The main driving gear |32, of the twisting gear train, is a mutilatedgear in that it has va number of teeth omitted to give an intermittentor delayed action to the intermediate gear |33 As previously stated thegear ratio may be as desired but, for example, if three twists aredesired in the knot then the twister pinion |31' niustbe given threecomplete revolutions, and if this pinion has ten teeth then theintermediate gears must each have thirty teeth, and the mutilated maindriving gear |32 must have no more than thirty teeth so that the knotmay be formed in the one revolution of the main gear. quently theremainder of said gear is formed with a smooth peripheral edge |80aligned with I the Yroots of the teeth so that the teeth of theintermediate gear |33 will have no coaction with this blank portion ofthe main gear.

An arcuate plate 8| is secured to a face of the mutilated gear in theregion of such blank portion, the outside radius of said plate beingequal to the maximum radius of said gear, with the outer peripheral edgeI 82 of said p1ate` aligned `with the tips of the teeth of said gear asclearly shown in Fig. 7. From the outer face of said plate extend pinsor projections |83 and |84` which are tangential to the peripheral edge|82 'of said plate, and the outside edge of said plate is notcontinuously circular butV is provided as at |85 with an inwardlyextending portion or hollow, all for purposes presently to appear.

To one face of the intermediate gear |33 there -slidingly contact withthe peripheral edge |82 of said arcuate plate, said concave edgeterminating in the points |86 and |89 of such distance from the axis ofthe gear |33 that they may extend into the path of the projections |83and |84 carried by the mutilated gear. A plate |90 covers the outer faceof the block |86 and is of substantially the same configuration thereofexcept that the edge of said plate has a hump |9| at a positionintermediate the points |88 and |89 of said block, said hump being of aradial extent to extend likewise into the path of said projections.

lWhen the locked clutch |03 and helical gear have caused rotation of theshaft |02, the

twisting mechanism is in the position shownin Figs. 6, 'z and a with theslot 'or the twister pinion registering with the slots |39 and III ofthe jaw plates, and ready to receive the wire preparatory to forming thenext twisted knot. The parts are held in this position by virtue of thecam i and its roller ndetent ||9, see Fig. 5. After subsequentloperations of feeding the wire around the package, drawing the slack outtherefrom and placing the wire under tension, which operations will be`later described, the trip ||2 will be moved from under the clutch leverthus causing the clutch pin |05 to be urged intoposition for engagingthe hole of the helical gear when it next comes around, and againlocking the clutch and gear to cause rotation of shaft |02.

In this rotation the stud or projection it, carried by the arcuate plateof the mutilated gear, will iirst strike the hump |9| of the plate |98of the intermediate gear |33, and said stud and'said hump are sopositioned on their respective gears that, when they so contact, theintermediate gear |33 will be correctly positioned for its teeth to beengaged by the first toothv |92 of the mutilated gear. This is madepossible by the point |89 of the block |86 riding oil. of the peripheryof the arcuate plate just prior to en-r gagement of said stud with saidhump. The mutilated gear by its teeth then causes rotation of the geartrain, giving. the necessary number of twists to the wires in thetwister pinion by the time that the last tooth |93 of said mutilatedgear is ready to leave, or break engagement wlth, the teeth of theintermediate gear.

At this time the point |89 of the block carried by the intermediate gearwill be under the arcuate plate |8| of the mutilated gear, and anypossible retrogradel movement of the intermediate gear |33, resultingfrom any cause, is prevented by sliding engagement between the .concavesurface |81 of said block and the periphery of said arcuate plate.Continued rotation of shaft |02 causes the other stud |83 of themutilated gear to strike the hump |9| of the plate |90 and to rotate theintermediate gear |33 slightly to provide a correspondingly slightover-twist in the knot. The purpose of this over-twist is to compensatefor the inherent springiness or tension in the knot resulting from thetwisting operation, thus insuring the required number of twists in theknot when ejected from the twister pinion; this overtwist also reducestoa minimum the frictional contact of the outer surface of the completedknot with the inner surfaces of the twister pinion slot and the slots ofthe jaw plates, when the knot is ejected.

Because of this slight over-twisting movement given -to the gear |33,the hollow |85 is provided in the periphery of-the arcuate plate |8| toreceive the point |89 rocked thereinto by this movement, l,but aftersaid stud |83 passes said hump then said point rides .out of said hollowand on to the remainder of the circular periphery of said plate; thisgives a slight retrograde movement to .the gear |33 which isautomatically transferred to the twister pinion, and this retrogrademovement brings registration of the twister pinion slot with thejawplate slots and easesv the tension on the over-twisted knot. However,when this occurs the parts will be in the position shown in Fig. '7 andat this time the trip'||2 will have operated the clutch |03 to ceaserotation ofthe yshaft |02.

Adjacent and substantially parallel to the wall |30 of the twister headthere is a rock shaft'200 having secured to one end thereof a dependingv grip the end of the wire and hold the same against dog 20| whose footis serrated or roughened to an,anvi1 202 aligned with the slot of thetwister pinion, see Figs. 6- and 7. Said rock shaft has thereabout acoil spring 203 to normally urge said dog in holding position on saidwire, said dog having on its outer face a plate 204 whose lowerextremity is outwardly deected, said plate serving to guide the end ofthe wire under said dog when said wire is fed through the slot of thetwister pinion. Said rock shaft has a pin 205 extending laterallytherefrom toward the intermediate twister gear |33, said pin adapted tobe engaged by a companion pin 208 mounted on the faceof said gearwhereby, in the rotation of said gear, the two pins will coengage andthe pin 205 will be moved downwardly and thus cause a clockwise rotarymovement of said rock 'shaft (see Fig. 6) resulting in a release of theend of the wire by the holding dog 20|. The rock shaft is journaled inan ear 201 carried by said wall |30.

Pivotally mounted in said ear 201 is a depending latchV member 208 underthe urge of a`spring 209, the lowermost end of said latch aligned withthe anvil 202 and the slotted twister pinion, and

having formed thereon a shoulder or recess 2|0 ed detent 2|4 under theupward urge of a leaf,y

spring 2| 5, said detent 2|4 being disposed substantially within anopening 2|6 formed in one end of a. square bar 2|1 adapted to slide incorrespondingly squared openings inthe walls of the twister head, saidbar being rigidly attached as by the pin 2|8 to a block 2 I9 onevertical surface of which abuts the gear train housing wall |3| as astop for limiting movement of said block in one direction (see Fig, 12).

In the upper portion of said block there is formed a circular bore Vforslidingly receiving therethrough one end of the push rod 8 5, theextreme end of said rod being slidably journaled in said wall` |3|. Saidpush rod has attached thereto a collar 220 against which abuts one endof a coil spring 22| disposed about saidrod, the other end of saidspring abutting against the op posite vertical surface of the block 2|9.Said block has attached thereto the latch hook |10 adapted to engage theend of the bar |86 for controlling actuation of the.kickers |5| and |82.Said push rod also has attached thereto a second collar 222 receivingthereag'ainst one end of a second coil spring 223 disposed about saidpush rod, the opposite end of said spring abutting against a wall 224associated with the housing for the motor worm gear drive for thismachine, said wall 224 slidably supporting said push rod.

Pivoted as at 230 to the extension 2|| of the wall |30 of the twisterhead is a bell crank 23| to the extremity of the upper arm of which isattached an operating rod 232 (see Figs. 1 and 7) extending downwardlyand attached to the foot lever 8 through a portion of the framework ofthe machine, there being provided a spring 233 for normally urging this'operating rod upwardly, the extremity 234 of the lower arm of said bellcrank being positioned to contact the front end of the square slidingbar 2|1. Within the bell crank is housed a spring actuated pin 235 op,-erating against a shoulder` of the detent 2|2 carried by the rock shaft200 (see Fig. l2).

'Thus it will be understood that when the foot pedal is depressed, thebell crank 23| will be oscillated and its arm 234 will cause a movementof the push rod tothe right as seen in the drawings thereby oscillatingthe arm 83 (see Figs. 4 and K12) and causing pinch relationship of thefeed rolls Stand 81 upon the wire I0 Vto move said wire in a directionfrom the reel to the twister mechanism, and that the push rod will beheld in its right hand position (as illustrated in Fig. 12) byengagement of the detent 2|2 of the rock shaft 200 with the tooth 2|3 ofthe detent 2 |4 carried by said square bar, the push rod then beingunder the tension of both of its springs 22| and 223. When the rockshaft 200 is oscillated counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 12, the twodetents will be disengaged, whereupon the push rod 95 will move to theleft as'seen in the drawings under the urge of its springs and causereverse oscillation of the arm 83 to release the pinch action on feedrolls 6G and 81 but to bring about pinch action between the othervertical pair of feed rolls 12 and 92 (Figs. 4 and 9) and thereby causethe wire to move in a direction from the twister mechanism to the reel,this movement of the wire resulting in the removal of the slack from itsloop about the box to be banded.

Attached to the pin 2|8 which holds the square bar 2|'l to the block2|9, is one end of a trip rod 236 the opposite end of which is slidablysupported in the wall 224 of the motor drive housing, said rod havingtwo collars thereon, the collar 231 serving as a stop for one end of acoil spring 238 disposed about said rod, the other end of said springbearing against one end of a weight 239 slidable on said rod, the othercollar 240 serving as a stop'for the opposite end of said weight (seeFigs. 12 and 13). 'I'he spring 238 is of only suiilcient strength tomove the weight back against the rear stop collar 240, said weight beingof sufficiently great transverse sectional area that al portion of anendthereof will contact the trip ||2 associated with the clutch |03 bymeans of which power is transmitted from the constantly rotating helicalgear |0| to the shaft |02 for operating the twister mechanism. Thelowerend of the trip |I2 is loosely bracketed as at 24| to the bed plate ofthe machine, and a coil spring 242 normally urges said 'trip to theright as seen in Fig. 13 up against the end of the clutchV |03 so thatthe upper end of said trip may be in the path of the arm 3 of the clutchbell crank |08 (see Fig. 10)

Thus it will be understood from Figs. 12 and 13 that, when the twodetents 2|2 and 2|4 are disengaged, the push rod 95 under the urge ofits strong springs, will snap to .the left as seen in said drawings, andthis movement will cause the block 2|9 to have quick motion to the leftwhich in turn y is imparted to the rod 236 and the weight 239 thereon,said weight continuing its movement to the'left due to the inertiathereof and against the slight tension of the light spring"1238, saidweight striking thetrip ||2 with suiiicient force to move the latter outfrom under the arm ||3 of the clutch bell crank to permit the pin |05 ofsaid clutch to move into position for engagement with the hole of theconstantly rotating helical gear |0|. Thereafter the tension of the tripspring 242 will be suiiicient to return the trip ||2 to a positionagainst the clutch |03 so that the upper end of said trip will be in thepath of the end ||3 of the clutch bell crank so that the latter will beengaged by said trip, subsequently, and cause oscillation of the clutchbell crank to disengage the clutch pin |05 from its locking position inthe hole of the helical gear |,0|. The weight spring 238 is Icy-passedby the trip U2, wherefore the weight 239 may again be urged against itsstop collar 240 ready for a repetition of the movement just abovedescribed.

As above brought out, the vertical pair -of feed Yrolls 66 and 81constitute the means for feeding the wire from the reel toward thetwisting mechanism, and the other vertical pair of rolls 12 and 9|constitute the means for drawing the slack out of the wire loop aroundthe box to be banded, and the gears 64, 85, 10 and 89 attached to saidfeed rolls are always in mesh with each other and are driven by theshaft 69 from the constantly rotating shaft 63, which has keyed theretothe helical gear |00. This drive is preferred since it provides a ratiothrough the gears 61 and 68 (Fig. 19) such as to cause rapid operationof the feed rolls, which is essential in automatic speed .machines Thishelical gear carries a pin 250 on its face which, in the rotation ofsaid gear, is adapted to engagethe hook 25| formed at the end of atensioning lever 252, said lever being in the form of a bell crankpivoted as at 253 in aV slot 254 of a gripper bar 255 which is yieldablysupported by the bed plate of'the machine.

The pivot 253 of the tensioning lever 252 passes through one end of aplate 256 whose other end is laterally extended to forman ear 251-provided with an opening for passage therethrough of the round shankportion 258 of the otherwise rectangular gripper bar 255 which portion258 receives thereabout a pair of coil springs- 259 and 260 the tensionof which may be varied and made as desired by the nuts 26| and 262threaded on said portion, see Fig. 15. In other words the spring 259 isdisposed between the nut 26| and the ear 251 of the plate 256, and theother spring 260 is disposed between the other nut 262 'and `the bracket263 carried by the bed plate of the machine. l

Thus, after the arm 93 has been oscillated to release the feed-in rolls66 and 81 from pinching contact with the wire, and to bring the pair offeed-out rolls 12 and 9| into pinching relation on the wire, the slackof the wire loop will be drawn out, and the wire brought into closecontact with the sides of the box to be banded. Near the end of thisoperation, the pin 250 on the helical gear |00 will engage the hook 25|4of the tensioning lever 252 and vcause said lever to be moved to theright as seen in Fig. 13, this movement causing the pivot pin 253 tomove toward the end of its slot 254 with concurrent movement of theplate 256 to the right against the tension of its spring 259. Tensioningof the spring 259 ultimately overcomes the tension of the spring 260 andthereby causes movementl to the right of the gripper bar 255. 4

The left hand end of this gripper bar is downwardly directed and carriesa pivoted dog 264 which, when rocked by this right hand movement of saidbar, grips the wire against the oor of a slide 265 operating in theguideway 266 therefor (Fig. 16) and thereby gives the necessary tensionto the wire about the box preparatory to the forma'tion of the twistedknot, the holding dog illustrat'ed in Fig. 14 being employed to-hold thecoil end of the wire to prevent the feed-out rolls 12 and 9| fromdrawing the wire out of the machine after -the cutters have operated. Aroller cam 261 mounted on the shaft |02 yurges the'tensio ing lever 252downwardly to insure gripping'ac tion of the dog 264 during thetensioning operation. The slide 265 is preferably trough-shaped anda'tube 268 is preferably provide'din alignment with the open portion ofsaid slide, said tube being. rigidly mounted in the frame of theguideway 266 land provided for the purpose of irlsuring alignment of thewire I0 with 4the tensioning dog 266. A stop 269 may be provided for thebell crank 252 for raising the hooked end 25| of the latter and holdingthe same in position for registrabley contact with the pin 250 of themiter gear |00.

Referring to Fig. 14, the shaft |02 is provided with a cam 215 adaptedto oscillate a lever 216 pivotally supported at 211 on the bed plate ofy the machine and having an extending arm 218 threadingly receiving ascrew 219 the lower end of which is adapted to engage a dog 280 mountedon the pivot 211, said dog engageable with the tensioned wire in asuitable slotway in the bed plate 2 of the machine. After the wire hasbeen tensioned about the box by the mechanism just previously described,the cam 215 operates the lever 216 to bring the dog 280 into tightholding relationship on the tensioned wire during the twisting of theknot and in.the interim between the actuation of the cutters and theactuation of the feeding-in rolls', thus retaining the coil end of 90the wire in themachine. On the side of safety a bar 28| may be-providedreceiving thereagainst a side of the lever 216 for counteracting alateral thrust on said lever that may be caused by the tension of thetensioned Wire.

The device for` holding the lifter rod 38 is shown in` Fig. 17 andcomprises a plate 282 sub-A stantially horizontally disposed andpivotally mounted at one end as at 283 to the bed plate 2 of themachine; This plate has an opening therethrough near its free endtopermit passage therethrough of said lifter rod, said opening being ofsuch shape and dimension that, when 'the plate is in its loweredposition as seen in said gure, a`relatively sharp edge 284 of saidopening will have a pinch or biting effect into the surface o f said rodand prevent downward movement of said rod. The extreme free end of saidplate rests upon the end of one arm 285 of a bell crank pivotallysupported as at 286 upon .50

the bed plate of the ma/hine, the other arm 281 of said bell crankcarrying a roller 288 at its extremity which roller is adapted to beengaged by a cam 289 mounted upon the shaft |02. Thus it will beunderstood that after the knot has been twisted and the ends of the wirecut oi adjacent the twisted knot, and the twisted knot ejected from thetwister mechanism, the cam 289 will operate said bell crank to raise theplate 282 from its gripping position and thereby release the lifter rod38 which'is then free to fall, the fall of said rod permitting' thelowering of the banded box.

In case the box to be banded has considerable weight it may be desirableto augment the action of the foot lever with automatic means for rais,-ing the box tobanding position and therefore the apparatus illustratedin/Fig. 18 is provided. The lifter rod 38 has attached thereto a bracket290 pivotally supporting the lower end of a rack 29| extending upwardlyand placed under the urge of a spring 292 tending to force said rack ina direction to theleft as seen `in said drawings. or in a direction awayfrom the rack gear 293 mounted for rotation with a worm gear 294enmeshed with the worm 295 carried by an extension of the power shaft60,-` said gear 293 disposed within a housing a portion of which is cutaway as indicated at 296 to expose the teeth of said gear to the rack29|, said gear rotating in the direction of the arrow to exert a liftingmovement to said rack when the latter is moved into enmeshmenttherewith. The push rod 95 carries a collar 291 so positioned as toswing the rack 29| into avertical position as shown in full lines in thedrawings to bring about engagement of the rack and the rotating gear, itbeing understood that said gear is constantly rotating due to itsdriving connection from the motor.

Thus it will be understood that when thefoot lever is depressed, thebell crank 23| will be oscillated (Fig. 12) to cause movement of thepush,

rod 95 to the rightas seen in the drawings, and

this movement of the push rod through the collar 291 moves the rack 29|into gear engaging position whereupon the gear will cause upwardmovement of said rack and thereby assist in the Vupward movement of thelifter rod 38, and corresponding upward movement of the box 6 into thecorrect position for formation of the twisted knot in the encircling andsecuring wire band. The teeth of the rack terminate so that when the boxhas been lifted to this position there will be no enmeshment with thegear 293. the lifting rod 38 then being gripped by the device shown inFig. 17 and held thereby in its elevated position. Upon disengagement ofthe detents 2|2 and 2|4, through oscillation of the rockshaft 200 to bedescribed later in the operation of this machine, push rod 95 isreleased Aand moves to the left under the urge of its spring 223,thereby permitting the rock 29| `to swing to the left under the urge ofits spring 292 into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 18 and out ofengagement with the gear 293.

AThe operation of this machine is as follows: A box is positioned on theelevator 5 as indicated at 6 in Fig. 1 and then the foot lever 8 isdepressed causing upward movement of the lifter rod 38 and through saidrod corresponding'upward movement of the elevator to bring thebox intothe position shown in Fig. 18 substantially against the twister head,said lifter rod automatically being latched in its raised position bythe plate 282 shown in Fig. 17. Downward movement of the foot levercauses oscillation of the bell crank 23| the lower arm 234 of which vasseen in Fig. 12 and then (only however in the initial starting of themachine) the dog 20| is moved manually to the left as seen in Fig. 6 tobring its lower corner onto the shoulder 2| 0 of the holding latch 208.This movement of the dog 20| oscillates its rock shaft 200 against thetension of its spring 203 to cause the detent 2|2 of said rock shaft toengage the detent 2|4 associated with the push rod 95 to hold said pushrod in its right hand position.

This movement of the push rod to the right oscillates the arm 93 tobring the vertical pair o f vfeed'rolls 66 and 81 into play to feed thewire I from the reel through the slotted twister pinion around they loopguideway 1 and again throughthe slotted twister pinion so that the freeend of the wire strikes the lower end of the latch 208 and pushes itslightly to the left as seen in Fig. 6, and this movement of the latchreleases the dog 20| from the shoulder 2I0 of said latch, whereupon saiddog is free to snap (under the urge of the rock shaft spring 203) intothe position shown in Fig. 6 to grip the end of the wire and hold thesame against the anvil 202. 'I'he dog 20| and its latch 208 areso'positioned thatthe Wire in first passing through the twister pinion,passes to the side of said dog and its latch, but after forming the loopin the guideway 1 the free end of the wire in passing the second timethrough the twister pinion assumes a position along side the rst bightof the wire and is in alignment with said dogv and latch.

When the dog 20| is thus released from its latch 208, its movement intoholding position just described on the end of the wire, causesoscillation of the rock shaft 200 sufficient to disengage the detents2|2 and 2 I4 thus permitting the push rod 95 to snap quickly to the leftasseen in Fig.-

12 under the urge of its spring 223, and thereby oscillate the arm 93 torelease the vertical pair of feeding-in rolls 66 and 81 but to bring thepair of vertical feeding-out rolls 12 and 9| into play to pinch the wireand move said wire in a direction toward the reel, thereby drawing theslack out of the loop of wire around the box.

When the push rod 95 thus snaps to the left, the sliding weight 239, onthe rod 236 associated with said push rod, strikes the trip ||2 to movethe upper end thereof from under the arm ||3 of the bell crank |08 ofthe clutch member 03 (see Fig. 10) and said bell crank oscillates underthe urge of its spring to bring the clutch pin into position forengagement with the hole of the constantly rotating helical gear |0|,and when said pin is engagedin said hole, the shaft |02 will be rotatedwith said helical gear and actuate the twister mechanism. Just beforethe twister mechanism operates the slack will have l been withdrawn fromthe wire loop about the box and the tensioning lever 252 actuated tocause the wire to be tensioned around the sides of the box.

The twisting mechanism provides a slightovertwist'whereby the slot ofthe twister pinion is moved slightly beyond registration with the slotsof the jaw plates |38 and |40, thereby imprisoning the twisted knot, andat this time the kickers will have been fully tensioned Fig. 8) by theoperation and latching of the bar |66, the holding dog 280 will havebeen actuated by the cam 215, and the cutters |43 and |49 will have beenactuated to sever the ends of the two bights of the wire adjacent theends of the twisted knot. Also at this time the pin 206 carried .by theintermediate twister gear |33 will have engaged and moved the pin 2,05to oscillate the rock shaft 200 thus releasing the dog 20|, from thesevered extremeend of the wire, and moving said dog into latchedposition on the shoulder 2|0 of the latch member 208. When the twisterpinion moves backward from its over-twist position, its slot willregister with the slots of the jaw plates, and the twisted knot will bekicked out and cleared of said jaws during the lowering of the bandedbox. After the kickers have `operated to release the twisted knot fromthe twister head, the cam 289 will cause release of the lifter rod 38and permit the lowering of the elevator and its banded box.

At the completion of the twisting of the knot. the clutch |03 will haverotated to bring the end ||3 of its bell crank |08 into engagement withthe upper end of trip ||2 and thereby cause oscillation of said bellcrank to withdraw clutchholding .dog 280 Fig. 14 will have been releasedto permit the next feeding-in action ofthe pinch rolls 66 and 81, andthe operations just described will be repeated. The various parts aredesigned and so positioned as to bring about the proper coordination andtiming of the various mechanisms as should be evident.

From the foregoing description it will therefore be seen that by thisinvention there is provided an automatic 'wire tying machine providedwith a wire tying head which includes the train of gears for rotatingthe twister pinion, the cutters, and the kickers for ejecting thetwisted knot from the tying head. Below this tying head there is a boxreceiving floor comprising the plurality of spaced rollers I2, IT andI8, between which the box supporting plates il are adapted to pass, theroller I'I movable into a position to intercept the next following box,and

one of said supports having the projection 2| for vated box beingretained against the tying head by the latch device generally identifiedby the numeral 41. Mechanical means for assisting inthe box raising areshown in Fig. 18 as including the constantly energized pinion 293 andthe pivoted rack 29| engageable therewith.

'I'he wire feeding means'is constantly energized and comprises the fourfeed rolls 66 and 81 arranged as one vertical pair and the rolls 12 and9| arranged as the other vertical pair, all four rolls being constantlygeared together as shown in Fig. 4 for actuation in unison, each rollmounted upon a shaft, but only the roll 12 secured to its shaft and thatshaft 69 constantly rotated in one direction only, the wire I beingdisposed substantially horizontally between the rolls of each verticalpair. The two lower rolls are supported in a yoke which is rockable bythe arm 93 actuated by the push rod 95 thereby constituting means forshifting the lower rolls toward and away from their upper rolls withoutdisconnecting their intergeared relationship, resulting inpinching'eiect of one vertical pair of rolls on the wire for feeding thewire to and around the box to be banded, and then alternately resultingin .pinching effect of the other vertical pair of rolls on the wire forfeeding the wire in a direction away from the box to remove the slackthereabout.

'With particular reference to Fig. 1 it'will be seen that the bracket 53for supporting the reel 9 of wire is so constructed and pivotallysupported on the framework of the machine as to constitute a lever forraising a heavy full reel of wire from the shop oor into wire feedingposition upon the framework. In other words a full reel of wire can berolled, in the position indicated at 9', to the unlatched bracket sothat ythe reel trunnions will readily enter the fork of the two upperarms of said bracket, and then theextremity of the lowermost arm raisedto swing both reel and bracket into the full line positions shown inthis figure of the drawings. 'I'his is an important feature since it isnot uncommon for some wire reels to weight several hundred pounds.

Lastly it is desired pointed out that this machine is admirably suitedfor handling wires of different transverse cross sectional shapes, roundWire having been used for many years. An important feature is theadaptability of thismachine to oval wire or wire havinga major and aminor axis, the wire being fed flatwise over the bed of the machine toand through the twister so 5. that the bights of the wire which arelapped in said twister are side by side with their major axes coalignedor in the same horizontal plane. In forming the twist, the bights arerolled in a direction transverse to said major axes whereupon, 10 in theresultant knot, the edges of one bight substantiallycontact the edges ofthe other bight. In other words the two bights are maintained in thetwister pinion slot 'in fiat sidewise contact instead of in superposedcontact of one flat bight over the other bight. The splicing of the ovalwire may be stated in other words as consisting of twisting the twosidewise contacting bights along their minor axes around each otheruntil the edges of their major axes coincide and their edges are incontact with each other, resulting in the creation of a longitudinalresistance in the l knot to a pulling strain, far beyond any similarresistance in a knot as heretofore-formed with 2 round wire. a It isobvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details ofconstruction and arrangements of parts without departing from the spiritof this invention and therefore it is desired not to be limited to theexact foregoing description except 3 as may be required by theclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of a wiretying head; a box receiving floor disposed below said head andcomprising a plurality of spaced members; an elevator comprising boxsupports adapted to pass betweeny said members; and means to lift saidelevator to raise a box from said floor to said tying head.

2. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of a wiretying head; a box re-\ ceiving iioor disposed below said head andcomprising a plurality of spaced members; an elevator comprising boxsupports adapted to pass between said members; and means to lift saidelevator to raise a box from said floor to said tying head, said meanscontrolling actuation of the tying head. f A 50 3. In a wire tyingmachine for banding boxes the combination' of a wire tying head a floorfor receiving a box from a/spply of boxes, said oor disposed below saidhead and comprising a plurality of spaced members, one of said members55 movable into a position to intercept the next following box; anelevator comprising box supports adapted to pass between said members,one of said supports adapted to remove the one of said oor membersA fromits intercepting position; and means to lift said elevator to raise abox from said I iioor to said tying head.

Vthe combination of a wiretying head; a box receiving. oor disposedbelow said head and comprising a plurality of spaced members; anelevator comprising box supports adapted topass between said members;and means to lift said elevator to raise a box from said floor to saidtying head, said means including a constantly energized pinion and apivoted rack engageable therewith.

6. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wirefeeding means constantly energized; wire twisting means; and means forshifting the wire feeding means into positions first for feeding thewire to and around the box to be banded and through the wire twistingmeans, and second for feeding the wire in a reverse direction to removethe slack from the loop thereof around' the box and to tension the wireprior to operation of the wire twisting means.

7. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of` Wirefeeding means comprising a plurality of coactingv wire pinching members,one only of said members constantly energized; wire twisting means; andmeans for shifting certain other members of the wire feeding means intopositions first for feeding the wire to and around the box to be bandedand through the wire twisting means, and second for feeding the wire ina reverse direction to remove the slack from the loop thereof around thebox and to tension the wire prior to operation of the Wire twistingmeans.

8. Inv a wire tying machine for banding `boxes the combination of wirefeeding means comprising a plurality of members constantlyinterconnected for coaction in unison, said members adapted to exertpinching action uponthe wire disposed therebetween, one only of saidmembers 'constantly energized; wire twisting means; and means forshifting certain other members of the wire feeding means into positionsfirst for feeding the wire to and around the box to be banded andthrough the wire twisting means, and second for feeding the wire in areverse direction to remove the slack from the loop thereof around thebox and to tension the wire prior to operation of the wire twistingmeans.

9. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wirefeeding `means comprising a plurality of feed rolls constantly gearedtogether for coaction in unison, said feed rolls adapted to exertpinching action upon the wire disposed therebetween, one only of saidfeed rolls constantly energized; wire twisting means; and means 4forshifting certain other feed rolls of the Wire feeding means intopositions first for feeding the wire to and around the box to be bandedand through the 4wire twisting means, and second for feeding the wire ina reverse direction to remove the slack from the loop thereof around thebox and to tension the wire prior to operation of the wire twistingmeans.

10. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of asource of operating power; wire feeding means constantly driven fromsaid source; wire twisting means; a clutch between said wire twistingmeans and said source; and means for shifting the Wire feeding meansinto positions for feeding the wire in opposite directions, saidshifting means controlling said clutch.

' 11. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes @the combination of asource of operating power; Wire feeding means constantly driven fromsaid source, said means comprising four feed rolls constantly gearedtogether, each roll mounted upon a shaft, one only of said rolls securedto the combination of a source of operating power;

wire feeding means constantly driven from said source, said meanscomprising four feed rolls constantly geared together and disposedsubstanv tially in the form of a square. thus providing two v upperrolls and two lower rolls, the two lower rolls shiftabletoward and awayfrom the two upper rolls, each roll mounted upon a shaft, one only ofsaid rolls secured to its shaft and that shaft rotated from said source;wire twist-` ing means; a clutch between said wire twisting means andsaid source; and means for shifting the lower rolls of the wire feedingmeans into wire pinching positions with respectto the upper rolls forfeeding the wire in opposite directions, said shifting means controllingsaid clutch.

13. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of asource of operating power; wire feeding means constantly driven fromsaid source; wire twisting means including-a single operating shaft; aclutch between said shaft and said source; means for shifting the wirefeeding means for movement of the wire in opposite directions, saidshifting means controlling said clutch; and means operated from saidshaft for controlling actuation of a wire tensioning device, for holdingthe tensioned wire, and for energizing ejectors of the twisted knot fromthe wire twisting means.

14. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of asource of operating power including a constantlyy rotating member; wirefeeding means constantly driven from saidv source; wire twisting meansincluding a single operating shaft upon which said member is looselymounted; a clutch between said shaft and said member; means for shiftingthe Wire feeding means for movement of thewire in opposite directions,said shifting means controlling said clutch; and means operated fromsaid shaft for controlling actuation of a wire tensioning device,4

for holding the ytensioned wire, and for energizing ejectors of thetwisted knot from the wire twisting means.

-15.\ In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of asource of operating power;

directions, said shifting means actuating a member the inertia of whichcontrols said clutch in' one directional movement of the shiftingmeans;`

and means operated'from said shaft forcontrolling actuation of a wire'tensioning device, and for holding the ,tensioned wire.`

16. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of asource of operating power;

wire feeding -means constantly driven `from said source; wire twistingmeans including a single operating shaft; a spring vactuated clutchbetween said shaftand said source and including a trip member forcontrolling said clutch; means for shifting the wire feeding means formovement of the wire in opposite directions, said shifting meansactuating a slidable weight the inertia of which controls said clutchin'one directional movement of the weight; and means operated from saidshaft for controlling actuation of a Wire tensioning device, for holdingthe tensioned Wire, and for energizing ejectors of the twisted knot fromthe wire twisting means.

17. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes and provided with a wiretwisting head the combination of wire feeding means comprising a set offour feed rolls constantly geared together for actuation in unison, eachroll mounted upon a shaft, one only of said rolls secured to its shaftand that shaft constantly rotated in one direction only, said rollsdisposed in the form of a square thus providing two vertical pairs ofrolls, the banding wire disposed substantially horizontally between therolls of each vertical pair; and means for shifting the lower rollstoward and away from their upper rolls without disconnecting theirintergeared relationship, said shifting means comprising arockable yokesupporting the lower rolls and connections for rocking said yoke tobring about pinching action upon the `wire between said vertical pairsof rolls, such pinching action alternating between said pairs first tocause travel of the wire in a direction toward said head for the purposeof forming a loop of the wire around the box to be banded, and then tocause reverse travel of the wire to f draw the wire loop tightly aboutthe box preparatory to the-twisting action of said head.

18. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wirefeeding means; wire tensioning means; wire twisting means; and means formoving a box to the twisting means, said moving means controllingactuation of all of the other said means. v

19. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wirefeeding means; wire' tensioning means; wire twisting means; and meansfor moving a box to the twisting means, said moving means automaticallyinaugurating actuation of all of 'the othersaid means.

20. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes and provided with a wiretwisting head the combination of wire feeding means comprising a set offour feed rolls constantly geared together for actuation in unison, eachroll mounted upon a shaft, one only of said rollssecured to its shaftand that shaft constantly rotated in one direction only, said rollsdisposed in the form of a square thus providing two vertical pairs ofrolls, the banding wire disposed substantially horizontally between therolls of each vertical pair; and means for shifting the lower rolls"toward and away from their upper rolls without. disconnecting theirintergearedA relationship to bring about pinching action upon the wirebetween said vertical pairs of rolls, such pinching action alternatingbetween said pairs rst to cause travel of the wire'in a direction towardsaid head for the purpose of forming a loop of the wire around the boxto be banded, and then to cause reverse travel of the wire to draw thewire loop tightly about the box` preparatory to the twisting action ofsaid head.

21. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wirefeeding means 'constantly energized; wire twisting means; means forshifting the wire feeding means into positions first for feeding thewire to and around the box to be banded and through the wire twistingmeans, and second for feeding the wire in a reverse directionto removethe slack from the loop the combination of wire feeding means con-ythereof around the box; and means for tensioning the wire around the boxafter the removal `of such slack, said tensioning means independent ofsaid feeding means.

22. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wirefeeding means constantlyfenergized from a rotating shaft; wire twistingmeans; means for shifting the wire feeding means into positions firstfor feeding thewire to and around the box to be banded and through thewire twisting means, and second for feeding the wire in a reversedirection to removethe slack from the loop thereof around the box; andmeans for tensioning the wire around the box after the removal of suchslack, said tensioning means independent of said feed- .ing means butcontrolled by a pin rotating with said shaft.

23. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wirefeeding means constantly energized from, a rotating shaft; Wire twistingmeans; means for shifting the wire feeding means into positions firstfor feeding the wire to and around the box to be banded and through thewire twisting means, and second for feeding the Awire in a reversedirection to removethe slack from the loop thereof around vthe box; andmeans for tensioning the wire around the box after the removal of suchslack, said tensioning means independent of said feeding means andincluding a hook and a pin, the pin rotating with said shaft, and thehook' movable into engagement with said pin.

v24. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes stantly energized; wiretwisting means; means for shifting the wire feeding means into positionsfirst for feeding the. Wire to and around the box to be banded andthrough the wire twisting means, and second for feeding the wire in areverse direction to remove the slack from the loop thereof around thebox'; and means for tensioning the wire around the box after the removalof such slack, saidl tensioning means independent of said feedingmeans'and comprising a member for subjecting said tensioning means to apredetermined pressure.

25. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the` combination of wirefeeding means constantly energized; wire twisting means; means forshifting the wire feeding means into positions lfirst for feeding thewire to and around the box to be banded and through the wire twistingmeans, and second for feeding the Wire in a ref verse direction toremove the slack from the loop thereof around the box; and means fortensioning the wire around the box after the removal of such slack, saidtensioning means comprising a spring controlled member the pressure ofwhich is adjustable in accordance with the strength of the banding wireused.

26. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wiretwisting means; means -to feed a wire around the box to be banded andthrough the twisting means, and then to-remove the slack from the loopof wire around the box;

and means for tensioning the wire .around the box after the removal ofsuch slack, said tensioning means independent of said feeding means.

27. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wiretwisting means; means to feed a wire around the box to be banded andthrough the twisting means, and then to remove the slack from the loopof Wire around the box; and means for tensioning the wire around the boxafter the removal of such slack, said tensioning means independent ofsaid feeding means and comprising a member for subjecting saidtensioning means to a predetermined pressure.

28. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of wiretwisting means; means to feed a Wire around the box to be banded andthrough the twisting means, and then to remove the slack from the loopof wire aroundthe box'; and means' for tensioning the wire around thebox after the removal of such slack, said tensioning means comprising aspring controlled member the pressure of which is adjustable inaccordance with the strength of the.bandingwire used. f

29. In a wire tying machine for banding .boxes the combination of asource of operating power; wire feeding means constantly driven fromsaid source; wire twisting means including a single operating shaft; aclutch between said shaft and said source, said clutch controlled bysaid wire feeding means; and means for tensioning the wire `around thebox, said tensioning means independent of said feeding means andcontrolled by said shaft.

30. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of asource of operating power; wire feeding means constantly driven fromsaid source; wire twisting means including a single operating shaft; aclutch between said shaft and said source, said clutch controlled bysaid wire feeding means; and means for tensioning the wire around thebox. said tensioning means independent of said feeding means andincluding a hook and a pin, the pin carried by a constantly rotatingmember, and the hook controlled by said shaft and movable intoengagement with sai 31.'In a wire tying machine for banding boxes thecombination of a source cf operating power; Wire feeding meansconstantly driven from said source; wire twisting means including asingle operating shaft; a clutch between said shaft and said source,said clutch controlled by said wire feeding means; and means fortensioning the wire around the box, said tensioning meansindependent ofsaid feeding means and comprising a member for subjecting saidtensioning means to a predetermined pressure said member controlled bysaid shaft.

32. In a wire tying machine for banding boxes the combination of asource of operating power; wire feeding means constantly driven fromsaid source; wire twisting means including a single operating shaft; aclutch between said shaft and said source, said clutch controlled bysaid wire feeding means; and means controlled by said -shaft fortensioning the wire around the box,

able in accordance with the strength of the banding wire used.

PARVIN WRIGHT.

